Model of Jerusalem at the time of the 2nd Temple now situated at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

ESSAYS - WRITING AND SELLING THEM


It’s frequently quoted that you can’t make a living writing essays – and this may well be true. 
 But  essays are a wonderful addition to your writing arsenal, and the more mature you are, the more you have to write about..

As the years have gone by I have written more and more essays for various publications and with practice they have become easier to write and almost all have been published ,( the ones that don’t usually end up on my other blog)

I’m not going to give definitions / directions / hints and tips about writing because so many other people have written about essay writing far better than I can,  so I’m giving some links below  to a variety of articles on the subject .

Now once, you’ve picked your topic and written the essay, where are you going to send it?
Below are links to guidelines of  a number of online and print publications that publish essays .
I suggest that you take the time to read some of the essays that they have already published to get some idea of what they are interested in and the style they prefer.

Most essays are between 700 – 1000 words with the preferred number being  usually 800 – 900 but always check the guidelines.

Some of the below markets have both online and print publications and some only pay for one version. If you want to get paid check carefully what the current rates are.

Although the CS in the  title is Christian Science, this is an online newspaper with  a very tenuous connection to religion. They like essays connected to travel, nature and parenting.
Here are some essays they have recently published in the Home Forum section
Sasee – essays on topics of interest to women
Brainchild – The Magazine for thinking mothers

Chicken Soup stories – current needs for various upcoming books
Underwired – women’s stories
Skirt – essays for and about women monthly essays are according to themes
Guideposts – stories to inspire

Family Tree – Genealogy Magazine – they have one essay  column called  Everything’s Relative

JEWISH PUBLICATIONS AND WEBSITES

Aish Hatorah  -  show Jewish wisdom in a positive manner

   Mishpacha weekly magazine with separate supplements for women and children
Ami  -  weekly Magazine with separate supplements for women and tweenagers
Here is a market analysis I wrote a few months ago.

With so much choice what are you waiting for?


3 comments:

  1. Guideposts specifically says it does NOT accept essays; you might want to refine your list.

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  2. Hi Anonymous,
    Thanks for bringing that up - I should have commented myself.
    The question here is how to define an essay.
    The kind of "stories" that Guideposts publishes are pretty much the same as those that other places call "essays"
    I suggest you look at the type of things they publish and see if what you write fits into their category and don't worry too much about what it's called.

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  3. Thank you for being so generous with your knowledge and your resources ! I am happy that you have this blog available for people who are just breaking into the writing field!

    ReplyDelete